Zara’s temper snapped. "I already told you—I don’t have the money. Figure it out yourself. Sell your property, your shares, or mortgage the house. Do whatever you have to. But don’t co to again."
There was a beat of silence on the other end, then Isaac’s fury exploded.
"You ungrateful wench," he shouted. "Now you are abandoning your own family. Don’t lie to —I know you have the money. You just don’t care. You want to watch us suffer."
Zara’s jaw clenched as the words hit her like slaps.
"If anything happens to Jaxon, I’ll never forgive you."
Then the line went dead.
Zara stared at the phone screen, her grip tightening. Her thoughts churned, torn between guilt and resolve. As much as she wanted to shut herself off from them, from the endless chaos they dragged into her life, they were still her family.
Could she really abandon them in a mont like this?
But another voice cut through the guilt, firr, clearer.
No.
She had done enough. Paid enough. Suffered enough. Every ti she helped, it only fed the cycle. It had to end.
"This ends now," she muttered under her breath with determination. "I’m not giving in to their pressure again."
She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and dialed the police station.
When the phone was connected, she wasted no ti. "I need to report a kidnapping," she said quickly but clearly. "My brother was taken from a hospital by force. His na is Jaxon..."
She continued, laying out the details one by one.
At Isaac’s house...
Isaac slamd the phone down. His face burned red with fury.
Lina tugged at his arm. "What did she say? Is she going to help us?" she asked anxiously, eyes searching his.
Isaac yanked his arm free. "No," he growled. "That ungrateful girl refuses to help. Said she doesn’t have the money."
Lina’s face twisted with disbelief. "She said no? That selfish witch!" she spat, but her anger quickly gave way to panic. "What are we going to do? We only have twenty-four hours. They said they’d kill him if we don’t pay."
She grabbed Isaac’s arm again, clinging to it like it was the last thread of hope. "Please, Isaac. Do sothing. Bring my son back. Don’t let them hurt him."
"Enough!" Isaac shouted, throwing her hands off him. "I won’t let anything happen to him, but I need to think."
Lina dropped onto the sofa. Her hands trembled, and tears stread down her face. "My poor Jaxon... I can’t even imagine what they are doing to him right now."
"Stop crying!" Isaac barked, rubbing his temples in frustration. "You are giving a damn headache."
But Lina couldn’t stop. Her sobs grew louder.
"You—" Isaac snapped, raising his hand in a blind flash of rage.
Ding-dong.
The sudden chi of the doorbell froze him mid-motion. He lowered his hand, startled.
"Who the hell is it now?" he muttered, storming toward the door. But the mont he opened it and saw two uniford officers standing outside, the color drained from his face.
’That damn girl,’ he thought bitterly. ’She called the cops.’
Swallowing his panic, he forced on a mask of confusion and calm. "Good evening, officers," he said, faking a polite tone. "What brings you here?"
"We received a complaint regarding your son," one of them replied. "It’s been reported that he was kidnapped. We are here to investigate."
Isaac let out a strained laugh, trying to seem casual, though sweat prickled at his brow. "Kidnapped? No, no, nothing like that. My son is fine. He is out with friends. You must’ve received a prank call."
The officer raised a brow, unconvinced. "Are you sure about that?"
"Absolutely," Isaac said quickly. "He is not in danger."
The officer didn’t respond right away. Instead, he peered past Isaac into the house, scanning the hallway. "We’d like to speak with your wife as well."
Isaac stiffened. "Why? What does she have to do with this?"
The officer narrowed his eyes. "Why are you hesitating? Are you hiding sothing?"
Isaac chuckled nervously, stepping aside. "No, no, not at all. Please, co in."
He hurried into the living room, where Lina was still curled on the sofa, wiping her tears. He leaned down and whispered urgently, "Lina, the police are here. They want to ask you a few questions about Jaxon. They think he has been kidnapped."
Lina’s eyes widened in shock, her tears halting as fear and confusion took over.
"What?" she gasped, her voice trembling as she stared at the officer in disbelief. Her face went pale, and instinctively, her hand reached for Isaac’s, gripping it tightly.
Isaac squeezed her hand in return, giving her a firm, aningful look. "Tell them the truth," he said. "Our son is perfectly fine. He is just with his friends."
The officer raised a hand to stop him. "Let her speak for herself."
Lina caught the ssage loud and clear. She forced a smile onto her face, though it barely reached her eyes. "Nothing is wrong. Really. Jaxon is fine... he is with his friends."
She repeated Isaac’s words exactly.
The officer narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Lina nodded, trying to keep her voice steady. "He is safe."
The officer studied her for a long mont, reading the nervous flutter in her lashes, the forced calm. But he didn’t press further.
"Apologies for the intrusion." With a polite nod, he turned toward the door.
Once outside, he climbed into the patrol car and shut the door. Turning to his partner, he asked quietly, "What do you make of it?"
"They are definitely hiding sothing," the junior officer replied. "Did you see her eyes? Red, swollen—like she has been crying for hours. That wasn’t normal. They are lying."
The senior officer gave a slow nod, eyes still on the house. "Keep surveillance. I want eyes on them 24/7 until we figure out what’s going on."
Inside the house...
Lina collapsed back onto the sofa, her body trembling as fresh panic overtook her. "Why were the police here? How did they find out?" she sobbed.
Isaac’s expression twisted with fury as he spat the na, "Zara. It has to be her. She called them."
Lina’s hands flew to her mouth. "Why would she do this? Is she trying to get Jaxon killed?" Her voice cracked, rising with hysteria. "Why would she make this worse for us?"
"She has gone too far this ti," he growled. "I’ll make her pay."
Just then, his phone buzzed violently in his hand. The mont he glanced at the screen, the color drained from his face. His hand trembled as he slowly accepted the call.
"Hello?"
"You brought the police into this?" a harsh voice exploded on the other end. "You think you are smart?"
"No, no—we didn’t," Isaac stamred. "It wasn’t us—"
"Don’t play dumb," the man snapped, cutting him off. "We saw the cops at your house. You betrayed us. And now? You’ll never see your son again."
Isaac’s knees nearly buckled. "Please," he begged. "Don’t hurt him. I swear, we didn’t call them. It was soone else. But listen to —I have a plan. I can get you more than five million."
There was a beat of silence before the voice snarled, "You better not be wasting my ti."
"I’m serious," Isaac said quickly. "My daughter, Zara, is married into the Grant family. If you get your hands on her, you can demand anything. Her husband will pay whatever you ask to get her back safely."
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